• spectre [he/him]
          ·
          edit-2
          3 years ago

          Right, and obviously the consequence is that if there are further interruptions to oil supply, there would be a risk of some significant shit (perhaps even serious shit, but probably excessively high fuel prices which is bad enough) since the reserves would be gone, but it's not the same as "society will collapse in 34 days"

          Also the "34 day clock" only starts ticking if oil imports dropped to exactly 0. It could possibly be emptied out faster than that, and a scenario where imports drop to exactly 0 instead of dropping somewhat means you have bigger issues on your plate than $20/gallon gas.

    • voice_of_hermes [he/him,any]
      ·
      3 years ago

      I suspect that means 33 days if it were being drawn from and not replenished, and if it were the sole source from which oil were being used. Remember this is an "emergency supply".

      This is like the individual, "How long would you be able to survive on your savings if you were suddenly and unexpectedly unemployed?" but for the whole U.S., and oil rather than money.